Monthly Archives: January 2010

By any objective criteria the state of Russian politics leaves something called “democracy” not present in the lives of its people. But, President Dimitry Medvedev believes things are politically correct in his country despite widespread evidence last fall’s elections were marred by corruption and denial of rights for opponents of the government. “In general,” says the president, “the results of the regional electionns reflect the real balance of the political forces and public sympathies in the country.” In other words, it makes no difference if his political party, United Russia, steals elections as long as they steal it along lines that reflect political views of people. The other parties in the Duma staged a boycott, but Medvedev is not impressed.

Many hoped with the election of Dimitry Medvedev after eight years of authoritarian Putin, there would be a new attitude about working for a free and democratic electoral system, but Dimitry appears to fear making changes. He continually insists United Russia IS the overwhelming favorite of the population, but he ignores that his party controls the media and has the power of government patronage. Step on on the road to democracy would be to offer opposition parties equal access to television.

One can only wonder how or why humans invented the concept of a God and then of a religion in their quest to emerge from primitive lives. There is no question religion has played an important historic role in establishing the basis for peace and kindness between people. Nigeria is an interesting example of how religion is a divisive force in human existence. Historically, the northern half of Nigeria became a center of the Muslim area while southern regions became Christian which created the basis for a divided country. The center region has witnessed the presence of both Christians and Muslims which apparently accelerates conflict.

During the past few weeks, religious violence has witnessed the death of over 450 people. According to Human Rights Watch at least 364 are Muslims although the exact figure for Christians has yet to be counted. Part of the conflict revolves around Muslim groups to institute Sharia law. At some point, Christians and Muslims in Nigeria have to take a step back and establish the basis of how divergent views can peacefully co-exist.

Critics of the administration of President Karzai constantly attack this brave men for his failures to establish and honest and effective government in his nation. Hopefully, those who oppose Karzai will at least applaud his latest brave effort to bring peace to the people of Afghanistan. The Afgahn president has outlawed sale of ammonium nitrate fertilizer which is used in making roadside bombs. This decision, in effect, means the end of roadside bombs because how could the Taliban get access to this item now that the president has outlawed its use? As we all know, it is impossible for the Taliban to obtain this material from its buddies in Pakistan.

Karzai will be attending a conference with western allies to discuss how to end the war in Afghanistan. One goal is for Afghan troops to be handling security in at least five of the 34 provinces. Say, what ever happened to the Bush promise during the 2004 presidential election that America would establish an Afghan army of 150,000 men? These days, no one blames Bush for anything– unemployment, banking crisis, deficit spending, et…

Oh, the good news, Saudi Arabia will spend about $160,000,000 in Yemen. The US will spend $140,000,000. After all, the Saudis really can’t spare any money from the billions they receive in sale of oil. That money is reserved for Saudis.

Nine years have passed since the terrible attack on 9/11 which created a new sense of fear in many parts of the world. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned of a possible new attack in his country after the world heard a new tape from Osama bin Laden. Miliband warned the threat was very possible and the entire nation is on its highest level of threat watch. In his tape, Osama bin Laden told the United States: “American will never dream of living in peace unless we live in it in Palestine. It is unfair that you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly.” Why is the world worried when for one of the few times, Osama spoke some logical sense? If President Obama made a serious effort to exert pressure on Israel to place a freeze on West Bank settlements, there would be negotiation between Israel and Palestinians!

We heard the typical “fear comment” from Miliband about terrorists coming to the UK with the new twist Islamic fundamentalists might be using western women as suicide bombers. In life, there is always a fear of terrorism. People get drunk and kill, people use their cars as suicide vehicles, and some people even use knives. We can not escape the presence of mentally ill people. This has been true throughout history and it is true today. Relax, be careful and hope for the best. Osama of no Osama.

Let’s face it, George Bush kept on dogging it when it came to dealing with the situation in Afghanistan. He never followed through with a full complement of dogs in order to sniff out problems and get themselves blown up by mines. Of course, he had a bulldog, Dick Cheney, always on his back barking orders about what to do or not do. Then again, he was a member of the hyena led Republican party so what could one expect? Barack Obama has decided to take the leash in his hands and send in the dogs. Along with the 30,000 additional troops there will be a surge in dogs. Dogs often accompany troops on missions and have the ability to get themselves blown up. Nick Guidas, who handles the K-9 project says he has highly trained German and Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labradors who are ready to die for their country since few Americans have similar feelings.

As Nick puts it, “because of the surge there is more need for working dogs. But, one of my main problems is getting dog food.” He has discovered although officers want more dogs they continue dogging it on the need to feed dogs. According to Guidas, there is a higher priority for Coca Cola than dog food.

How about throwing cans of Coca Cola toward the Taliban and when they go to pick them up, just shoot the devils!

Lebanon is a nation in search of peace, but it has become a battleground for guerrilla forces who have military agendas in areas outside of Lebanon. The Lebanese government ordered that all Palestinian forces outside the confines of refugee camps should disarm and cease engaging in military actions. “Lebanese sovereignty is not open to negotiation” was the message. On Monday, the leader of a Syrian backed Palestinian group, Said Mussa, told the government, “Palestinian arms inside or outside the camps are part of our resistance against the Zionist enemy.” The presence of these outside groups simply makes it impossible for the people of Lebanon to enjoy the benefits and peace of a neutral nation.

Once again, the problem of failure to resolve Israel-Palestinian conflicts results in destabilizing another nation. Until Israel and the Palestinian Authority can reach peaceful agreements, there will be constant conflict in the Middle East

Humans have been moving in every direction since the first ones left Africa thousands of years ago. Some headed east, some west, some north, but their progress was slow and steady over the course of many years. In modern times, people are fleeing from terror and violence in southern regions and fleeing anywhere, even to the snows of the north. Mrs. Feiweni fled Eritrea and found herself in below zero degree Sweden. Her initial reaction was fear, cold and bewilderment, but as time passed, like a good migrant she adjusted. “We had not been prepared for the cold and had arrived with think clothes.” Now, she has a job, her children attend school and she has learned to speak Swedish. All too often critics claim refugees do not learn a new language, but most immigrants have to learn or there will be no work opportunities.

Terina Asadi, a young college student from Afghanistan will soon have to leave the area with its snow and head to a town offering university opportunities. “It’s a shame because I love the snow and the summer here is even better. It never gets dark, it’s amazing.” These refugees insist Swedish people are friendly, they have job opportunities and they enjoy becoming a Swede.

So much for the myth about immigrants who do no adjust to new environments.

In the 1970s, the country now known as Zimbabwe was considered the “bread basket” of Africa and its people had a higher standard of living than most African nations. The government of Robert Mugabe unleashed a program that drove white farmers and their black workers from the land in order to give farms to cronies and associates of President Mugabe. A tribunal of the Southern African Development Community(SADC) ruled the seizures were in violation of international law and farmers should be compensated or allowed to return to their farms. Mugabe has refused to acknowledge the right of a SADC court to rule on what happens in his nation.

Three white farmers are seeking the support of South African courts to sue for return of their land and it appears they will be successful in securing that right. The issue is not whether whites should have been forced to surrender their land to black Africans. The issue was the need for an orderly process which ensured competent black farmers were given the farms, owners were compensated, and the Mugabe program of giving land to his buddies never implemented. The Mugabe program ruined farms because instead of having them farmed by successful black farmers, they were run by a group of incompetent men and women who wanted money, not good farming.

The ongoing dilemma of seeking to promote peace and democracy in the world is a need to work with military leaders who, although against fundamentalist terrorists, much prefer being in charge of terrorism within their own nation. A new report from Human Rights Watch, blasts the Pakistan military for its efforts to undermine civilian government and for refusing any efforts at ensuring American aid to Pakistan further the cause of democracy. The HRW report provides evidence how Pakistan generals wanted deleted from American aid any mention about the aid should be handled by civilian leaders not by the military. According to Ali Dayan Hassan of HRW: “after eight years of disastrous rule and in spite of the election of a civilian government, the army appears determined to call the shots in order to ensure that it can continue to perpetrate abuses with impunity.”

Human Rights Watch emphasized that during the rule of General Musharraf hundreds of people “disappeared” in Baluchistan because of their desire to have greater independence for the region. Oh well, isn’t it wonderful the Pakistan army is on “our side” in the fight against terrorism and for democracy!

I am a fanatic sports fan who watches baseball, football, and basketball a good part of my daily life. Among the reasons I enjoy watching a sport event is because there are no political aspects to the game, just some talented men and women doing their best to beat the hell out of the other team. But, anti-abortion folk want to make certain that controversy intrudes into sports by paying for an advertisement during the Super Bowl which explains why they are opposed to abortion. The ad will feature, Tim Tebow of the University of Florida football team who during his football career painted Bible quotations under his eyes. The ad is entitled: Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life, will feature Tebow and his mom who went through with a difficult pregnancy and delivered little Tim.

Mr. Tebow was an outstanding college quarterback, but has never followed through with a successful professional football career. I wonder if the reason for his lack of success derives from trying to use Jesus to further his career. I guess this proves Jesus Christ just was not into football or baseball or basketball. Perhaps, Mr. Tebow can get into donkey racing.